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The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late
The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late was a song composed by Bilbo Baggins. The title of this version is given in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. History In the Inn at Bree, Frodo jumps on a table and recites this song, only referred to as "a ridiculous song invented by Bilbo".The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book One, Chapter IX: "At the Sign of the Prancing Pony" Form There follows the tale, in thirteen ballad-like five-line stanzas, introducing each element in turn: "the Man in the Moon" himself, the ostler's "tipsy cat/that plays a five-stringed fiddle", the little dog, the "hornéd cow". As with many ballads of this form, it scans rather well to the tune of the theme from "Gilligan's Island." Which can be played to the guitar line of "Stairway to Heaven." Such are the dangers of the folk form. Lyrics There is an inn, a merry old inn beneath an old grey hill, And there they brew a beer so brown That the Man in the Moon himself came down One night to drink his fill. The ostler has a tipsy cat that plays a five-stringed fiddle; And up and down he runs his bow, Now squeaking high, now purring low, Now sawing in the middle. The landlord keeps a little dog that is mighty fond of jokes; When there's good cheer among the guests, He cocks an ear at all the jests And laughs until he chokes. They also keep a hornéd cow as proud as any queen; But music turns her head like ale, And makes her wave her tufted tail and dance upon the green. And O! the rows of silver dishes and the store of silver spoons! For Sunday there's a special pair, And these they polish up with care on Saturday afternoons. The Man in the Moon was drinking deep, and the cat began to wail; A dish and a spoon on the table danced, The cow in the garden madly pranced, and the little dog chased his tail. The Man in the Moon took another mug, and then rolled beneath his chair; And there he dozed and dreamed of ale, Till in the sky the stars were pale, and dawn was in the air. Then the ostler said to his tipsy cat: 'The white horses of the Moon, They neigh and champ their silver bits; But their master's been and drowned his wits, and the Sun'll be rising soon!' So the cat on his fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle, a jig that would wake the dead: He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune, While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon: 'It's after three!' he said. They rolled the Man slowly up the hill and bundled him into the Moon, While his horses galloped up in rear, And the cow came capering like a deer, and a dish ran up with the spoon. Now quicker the fiddle went deedle-dum-diddle; the dog began to roar, The cow and the horses stood on their heads; The guests all bounded from their beds and danced upon the floor. With a ping and a pong the fiddle-strings broke! the cow jumped over the Moon, And the little dog laughed to see such fun, And the Saturday dish went off at a run with the silver Sunday spoon. The round Moon rolled behind the hill as the Sun raised up her head. She hardly believed her fiery eyes; For though it was day, to her surprise they all went back to bed! Behind the Scenes According to Tolkien, this poem survived to "our time" in the form of the simplified nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle". "Here it is in full," said Tolkien. "Only a few words of it are now, as a rule, remembered." as proud as any queen. But music turns her head like ale, And makes her wave her tufted tail And dance upon the green." and "O! the rows of silver dishes/ and the store of silver spoons." At the climactic moment "With a ping and a pang the fiddle-strings broke! the cow jumped over the Moon, And the little dog laughed to see such fun And the Saturday dish went off at a run with the silver Sunday spoon." Note that the cow is able to jump over the Moon with ease because the Man in the Moon has temporarily brought it down to Earth. Part of Tolkien's brilliance in establishing the epic mood is his ability to introduce a version of a familiar saying and give the reader a sense of hearing the old proverb afresh, as if spoken for the first time, in the heat of the moment. Portrayal in adaptations The Hobbit film trilogy In The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Bofur sings a revised version of this song whilst eating in Rivendell. The song's lyrics are as follows: “There's an inn, there's an inn, there's a merry old inn beneath an old grey hill, And there they brew a beer so brown That the Man in the Moon himself came down one night to drink his fill. The ostler has a tipsy cat that plays a five-stringed fiddle; And up and down he saws his bow Now squeaking high, now purring low, now sawing in the middle. So the cat on the fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle, a jig that would wake the dead: He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune, While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon: ‘It’s after three!’ he said. See Also *Tilion, the Maia of the Moon *Arien, the Maia of the Sun References it:C'è una locanda, un'allegra locanda Category:Texts by J. R. R. Tolkien Category:Songs and Verses